Grotesquerie Delves Into Horror and Humanity in Episodes 3 and 4
FX’s Grotesquerie continues to deliver unsettling horror and complex character dynamics in episodes three and four. The show, helmed by the indomitable Niecy Nash-Betts as Detective Lois Tryon, digs deeper into the mystery of ritualistic killings while intertwining these grisly events with her own personal traumas. These episodes bring out some of the series’ most intense and layered storytelling yet, skillfully balancing grotesque imagery, murder mystery, and moral ambiguity.
In episode three, titled The Bender, Lois’s relationship with her daughter Merritt, played by Raven Goodwin, is explored further. It’s hard to ignore the tragic parallel between Merritt’s disordered eating and Lois’s dependence on alcohol. While Lois offers to help Merritt gain weight — “I’ll help you get where you wanna be weight wise… in exchange, I’ll drink how I please” — the tension between mother and daughter becomes palpably toxic. This codependency on unhealthy habits speaks to one of the show’s central themes: survival through addiction. Nash-Bett’s portrayal of Lois is heartbreakingly raw, particularly during a flashback where she recounts meeting her husband Marshall, portrayed by Courtney B. Vance. It’s in these quieter, reflective moments that Lois’s vulnerability contrasts with her hardened exterior, further cementing Nash-Betts as the show’s emotional backbone.
Episode three escalates the horror with one of the most disturbing crime scenes yet. The visual of mismatched limbs stitched together and adorned with a goat’s head, set to mariachi music and flashing lights, is quintessential Grotesquerie. As Lois drunkenly confronts her colleagues about the identity of the victims, her fiery dedication to the case — despite her unraveling sobriety — shines through. This moment, a standout in Nash-Betts’s performance so far, emphasizes Lois’s connection to the victims and her sense of responsibility to a community that her colleagues often dismiss. The emotional weight of her monologue, where she lists the names of the people she recognizes from the stitched-together body parts, gives the scene a sobering gravitas amid the absurd horror.
While Lois’s personal demons come to the forefront, the show’s religious and symbolic themes continue to unfold through Sister Megan, played by Micaela Diamond, and Father Charlie, played by Nicholas Alexander Chavez. Sister Megan’s eccentric insights into the murders as “art forms” speak to her character’s fascination with death and faith. Her dynamic with Lois remains a highlight, the trust between them growing as she consistently proves herself as the detective's most reliable and possibly only ally, providing intellectual clues in their pursuit of the killer.
Nurse Redd, played by Lesley Manville, continues to loom large as an unsettling presence. Manville’s performance is chilling, with Redd implying her desire for control over Marshall’s fate. Her interactions with Lois, particularly reinforce the idea that she could be more than just a caretaker. She blurs the line between reality and hallucination, leaving viewers to question if she might be a figment of Lois’s guilt-ridden imagination. Her sharp, intrusive remarks about Lois’s personal life often feel less like genuine dialogue and more like manifestations of Lois’s self-doubt, hinting that Redd could be a projection of Lois’s inner turmoil.
By episode four, titled Coordinates, the religious imagery intensifies. Father Charlie who we now see teaching spin classes in a disturbingly sensual way, exudes a mix of charisma and menace. His interactions with Sister Megan, especially during their steamy, guilt-ridden encounters, toe the line between sacred and profane, adding to the show’s thematic tension between faith and sin. Chavez’s Father Charlie has increasingly suspicious undertones, from his fascination with the grotesque murders, his self-flagellating scars, and his self-contradicting views on sex. The possibility of Father Charlie being the killer is a theory I’ve been considering from the start, especially with Lois suggesting the murderer could be a surgeon or someone with medical knowledge. Let’s not forget that in episode 2 he mentioned that he considered becoming a surgeon, but ultimately decided not to because “it’s just plumbing. I want to remove the cancer from their souls.”
Lois’s relationship with Eddie Laclan, played by Travis Kelce, introduced in episode three, also evolves as the two share moments of levity amidst the darkness. But Eddie’s role remains ambiguous. While he charms Lois and even helps her escape from the hospital in a near-comedic slow-motion getaway scene, there’s a sense that Eddie’s motivations are not entirely clear. His connection to the medical field, combined with his too-good-to-be-true persona, keeps him on the periphery of suspicion, especially with the growing theory that the killer could be someone close to Lois.
The climatic moments in this episode also raise the stakes for the broader mystery. As Lois and Sister Megan Investigate the coordinates found in a puzzle box left behind at a crime scene, they journey into a fiery landscape, encountering what may be literal and metaphorical manifestations of hell. Sister Megan’s rendition of “I Don’t Know How to Love Him” from the Broadway classic Jesus Christ Superstar beautifully juxtaposes horror and the beauty of human connection — and, of course, shows us how comfortable Lois and Sister Megan have gotten around each other. The two finally reach their destination, a burning pit in the middle of the desert where they encounter Dr. Ritter, an unsettling geologist with cryptic warnings about natural disasters, leaving them with more uncertainty than clarity.
While looking for shelter from the growing fire, Lois comes across a man digging a fire line who offers an ominous warning about humanity’s impact on the planet: “Nothing comes from nowhere. We did it. Burned fossil fuels, increasing the greenhouse gases, depleting the ozone layer. Just nobody cares.” His words, while referencing the literal natural disaster, subtly echo Grotesquerie’s religious imagery and apocalyptic themes. There’s an underlying message about humanity’s destructive actions toward both the environment and each other. The show’s continued reference to the end times may not just be a matter of divine retribution, but the consequences of human negligence and sin.
Overall, episodes three and four of Grotesquerie deepen the show’s exploration of trauma, sin, and survival. While the murder mystery continues to twist and turn, it’s the emotional journeys of the characters, particularly Lois, that keep the show grounded. Nash-Betts is a powerhouse and, with the stakes growing higher, the question of who — or what — is really behind these killings becomes more pressing than ever. From Father Charlie’s hidden darkness to Nurse Redd’s cryptic motives, Grotesquerie is pulling its audience into a hellish and compelling spiral.
Watch Grotesquerie Wednesdays on FX or stream the next day on Hulu.
